CRC/C/TJK/CO/2
Corporal punishment
39.
The Committee notes the State party’s efforts to raise awareness on violence against
children, including campaigns “protecting children from abuse” as well as the
establishment of rehabilitation centres for women and children. The Committee, however,
regrets that these activities are limited to certain regions of the country and corporal
punishment is not explicitly prohibited under domestic laws and is extensively used as a
disciplinary measure at home, schools, and childcare institutions. The Committee regrets
the lack of representative data on corporal punishment of children by parents, teachers and
the staff of childcare institutions.
40.
The Committee recommends that the State party, as a matter of urgency:
(a)
Conduct a study on prevalence of corporal punishment in all settings;
(b)
Enact legislation in order to explicitly prohibit all forms of corporal
punishment in all settings;
(c)
Organize awareness campaigns on the negative impact of corporal
punishment on children, and provide teachers, parents, community leaders, and
personnel working in penal institutions with training;
(d)
sanctions.
Investigate reported cases of corporal punishment and apply adequate
41.
With reference to the United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on violence
against children, the Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary
measures to implement the recommendations of the United Nations Study on Violence
against Children (A/61/299), taking into account the outcome of the Regional
Consultation for Europe and Central Asia, (held in Slovenia from 5 to 7 July 2005). In
particular, the Committee recommends that the State party:
(i)
Prohibit all forms of violence against children;
(ii)
Strengthen national and local commitment and action;
(iii)
Promote non-violent values and awareness-raising;
(iv)
Enhance the capacity of all who work with and for children;
(v)
Ensure accountability and end impunity;
(vi)
Provide recovery and social reintegration services;
(vii)
Develop and implement systematic national data collection and research.
(a)
Use the recommendations of the Study as a tool for action in partnership
with civil society and, in particular, with the involvement of children to ensure that all
children are protected from all forms of physical, sexual and psychological violence
and to gain momentum for concrete and time-bound actions to prevent and respond
to such violence and abuse;
(b)
Provide information concerning the implementation by the State party
of the recommendations of the Study in the next periodic report;
(c)
Seek technical cooperation in this respect from the Special
Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, OHCHR,
UNICEF and WHO, and other relevant agencies, inter alia, ILO, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNODC, as well as NGO partners.
8